Why I Think the 7" iPad Will Never Happen

macrumors newbie

The 7" iPad has been long rumoured and even thought to be in production. I personally think that apple will never do such a thing. Having two tablets' on the market would not really make sense. I can understand that people would like to have a portable version of the iPad to read books and such, but that would force apple to create yet another ecosystem for developers to build and scale for. Of course you can downscale iPad apps but that would degrade the quality of the image. I think the main reason for the 7" tablet would be as an e-reader, browsing on a 7" wouldn't seem right (I have a playbook and hardly ever use it). Its not comfortable to take out when I'm out and its too small to browse when I'm home.

If we go through apple's history of products and models, they have known to have mini's and smaller versions of popular products such as iPod video, nano, shuffle (but with each smaller version of the product a crucial feature was removed ex; iPod video(more storage/larger screen)--(iPod nano/smaller screen/less memory)--(iPod shuffle/no screen). And if we look at more recent history there have been talks about a 4" iPhone, which would totally make sense because the wider screen would allow more room for a better battery and more components while allowing a slimmer profile. Once the 4' iPhone does and WILL come out, there would really be no need for a 7" tablet because of the size ratio.

macrumors 6502

I live in London and in the morning you spot a sea full of people on the tube reading on an E-Book, and guess what size they are?

6-8 inches and fit inside a purse or a chest pocket.

The iPad is too large and heavy for that sort of portability and the iPhone screen is too small to comfortably read on. It is only for so long that Apple can ignore that segment. The iPod Touch is doomed and the best way to give it a second chance at life would be to increase it's screen size to 5-7 inches. That would also do well in capturing the market for low-end tabs like the Kindle Fire, which is something the iPad cannot.

There will eventually need to be 7 inch iPad or the iPhone will have to be bumped up to 4.2 inches in screen size. Something will have to give.

macrumors 68000

macrumors 601

I prefer to be open minded and think positive. As a long time Apple customer, it's served me well. I have each size of MBP, MBA, and will be eager to pre-order a mid size iPad once Apple caves in to the opportunity to further expand their revenue.

Within my rather large circle of friends within the ranks of hi-tech professionals, the consensus is at least 65% of us are ready, cash in hand. A mid size iPad will be a nice compliment to our full size models, and provide one more choice. We all enjoy choices.

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